Two new buildings proposed for west end of downtown Boulder

Projects located off Ninth Street

Two new three-story, mixed-use buildings could be built in downtown Boulder's west end if recently proposed applications get the go-ahead from city planners.

Use review applications were filed with the city of Boulder for 901 Pearl St., a one-level glass shop building off Ninth and Pearl streets that was home to Marisol Imports before it moved, and 909 Walnut St., an unpaved parking lot sandwiched between two buildings.

Plans for 901 Pearl -- which has a street address of 915 Pearl St. -- are a reboot of a proposal made in 2008 and call for a "premier restaurant user" to occupy the first level with four condominiums to be built on the second and third floors. The 21,604-square-foot building is proposed to have a 13-foot setback of the third floor.

Phil Shull, an owner of 901 Pearl and an applicant for the project, said sales agreements have been reached for the restaurant and condominiums. Shull declined to disclose additional details such as the sales prices or the identity of the restaurant operator, but said his goal is to have work begin by the end of the year.

Documents submitted to the city indicate that the restaurateur of 901 Pearl currently operates two downtown establishments. Several downtown restaurants have sister eateries including Frasca Food and Wine, The Kitchen, Bacaro and Aji.

The proposal for 901 Pearl remains mostly similar to plans submitted in 2008 for the property. At the time, lauded local restaurant Frasca Food and Wine inked a letter of intent to anchor the building, but redevelopment plans stalled amid a faltering economy and Frasca ultimately renegotiated its lease for 1738 Pearl St.

As the redevelopment efforts fell behind schedule, the development group temporarily leased the location to Tesla, an electric car company co-founded by Elon Musk, whose brother Kimbal co-founded local restaurant The Kitchen and search engine firm OneRiot.

Tesla closed its Boulder showroom in 2011 and the property since has seen temporary leasing activity.

Plans for the 901 Pearl project, at the former site of Marisol Imports at 915 Pearl St., call for a restaurant to occupy the first level and four condos to be built on the second and third levels.
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Mark Leffingwell
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Two lawsuits were filed in 2011 against the 901 Pearl development team: one by the family of the late Boulder City Councilman Tom Eldridge, who sold the building to Shull's group for $2.3 million; and the other by Frasca. The Eldridge family's suit was quickly withdrawn and a settlement was reached with Frasca.

"I'm not interested in talking about the past," Shull said.

Like the 909 Walnut St. proposal, the 901 Pearl St. application requires city planning staff-level approval because the proposed third floors are variations to the two floors that would be allowed under the by-right development requirements, said Elaine McLaughlin, a city planner. Because both buildings are within the 38-foot height limit of the downtown zoning district, the development decisions can be made at the staff level, but are subject to a 14-day call-up period by the Boulder Planning board, she said.

Boulder planning staff members on Friday issued their second round of comments on 901 Pearl and a response from the developer could come in the next couple weeks, McLaughlin said. A neighborhood meeting is scheduled for Sept. 16.

City planning officials issued comments on the 909 Walnut proposal on Aug. 23. That project's applicant has not yet re-submitted the application, she said.

Proposed for 909 Walnut St. -- a 6,300-square-foot unpaved parking lot sandwiched between two buildings -- is a three-story mixed-use building with a basement.

Developers are proposing that a restaurant would occupy the 4,352-square-foot street-level space and offices in the two floors above, according to filings made with the city. The building would have more than 16,600 square feet between the three floors and basement.

The property is owned by 1833-37 Partners LLC, which purchased the lot for $1.9 million in April, according to Boulder County records. The entity is connected to Barrett Toan, the former president and CEO of Express Scripts Inc.

Toan and James Trewatt, the project's applicant and architect for Boulder-based Arch11, could not be reached for comment.

If approved, the 901 Pearl and 909 Walnut projects could supplement what is expected to be one of the largest developments in downtown Boulder in recent history. The city of Boulder already has given the green light for a nearly 160,000-square-foot office and retail building at 1048 Pearl, the former home of the Daily Camera.

Randy Nichols, whose Denver-based Nichols Partnership purchased the Camera property for $13.5 million last year, could not be reached Monday for comment.

"I think both (901 Pearl and 909 Walnut) are exciting projects," said Sean Maher, executive director of Downtown Boulder Inc., the nonprofit organization that promotes downtown businesses. "(The property at) Ninth and Pearl has been underutilized for a long time. That's one of the most desirable sites in the entire city."

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